U.S. Presses Iraq on Iranian Planes Thought to Carry Arms to Syria

WASHINGTON — The State Department said Wednesday that Iraq has an obligation under United Nations Security Council resolutions to insist that Iranian planes that are suspected of flying arms to Syria over Iraqi airspace land so the cargo can be inspected.

The flights were suspended in March, according to American officials, after objections by the United States. But they resumed in July after an explosion killed several senior members of the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. The officials said that American intelligence assessments indicated that the flights were carrying weapons and military equipment.

“It’s something we’ve raised with the Iraqis in great detail,” said Patrick Ventrell, the deputy State Department spokesman, referring to the flights. The simplest solution, he added, would be for the Iraqis “to require these aircraft to land and be inspected in Iraqi territory.”

But Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq told a group of visiting American senators that he had been assured by the Iranians that the flights carried only humanitarian aid and that the United States had yet to provide proof that military equipment and weapons were being shipped — a position that was reiterated Wednesday by one of his aides.

“Until now, there was no evidence from the Americans regarding weapons,” said Ali al-Moussawi, a media adviser to Mr. Maliki. “We need that evidence, if available, so that we can take strict measures.”

The contrasting statements made it unclear whether the two sides were firmly at odds over the allegations of Iranian military shipments to Syria or whether a face-saving solution might be possible. After the Obama administration raised concerns over a similar series of Iranian flights earlier this year, Iraqi officials talked with their Iranian counterparts and the flights stopped.

Since the resumption of the flights, the Obama administration has again pressed its concerns. Three senators who have been strong advocates of American support for Iraq — Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut; John McCain, Republican of Arizona; and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina — also sought to reinforce the administration’s case in a closed-door meeting with Mr. Maliki in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Mr. McCain said in a telephone interview from Iraq that he had warned the Iraqi prime minister that the flights were a serious issue for the United States and would “have an effect on our relations” if they did not stop.

Mr. Lieberman said that it was his understanding that the Iranian flights to Syria were occurring “almost on a daily basis.”

Mr. Graham added that if the Maliki government was seen as being “complicit with Iran, it will be difficult to get Congressional support” for American technical assistance and aid programs in Iraq. But he told reporters in Baghdad that the Maliki government might be less willing to stand up to Iran because of the growing ambivalence over Iraq in the United States.

“The reason they’re probably not pushing back on Iran is because they don’t see how this ends,” Mr. Graham said. “There’s an amazing lack of American leadership, and it’s beginning to show on all fronts.”

The Iranians appear to be mounting a major effort to try to prop up the Assad government, which has been their principal Arab ally. But Mr. Maliki and his Shiite-dominated government may have their own reasons for acquiescing to the flights, some American officials say. The Iraqi prime minister, they say, may see Mr. Assad’s possible fall from power as a potential setback that might lead to his encirclement by Sunni Arab states and embolden his Sunni and Kurdish rivals at home.

Mr. Maliki’s aides insisted that they were not turning a blind eye to weapons transfers, but merely lacked enough information to act. “Iraq won’t allow passage of weapons or fighters through its airspace or by ground to the disputing parties in Syria,” said Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman.

But one independent Iraqi lawmaker was skeptical of the Iraqi government’s position. “Iraq’s government can say nothing to Iran regarding weapons transmission through its airspace,” said the lawmaker, Hassan al-Allawi. “This government is loyal to Iran.”

Mr. Ventrell declined to say whether detailed intelligence on the weapons shipments had been or would be shared with Mr. Maliki. But he said that Iraq was obliged to act by two Security Council resolutions, including one passed in 2010 that required states to inspect cargo from Iran if it was believed to contain prohibited items, like weapon exports.

“We expect Iraq as a member in good standing of the international community and as a strategic partner of the United States to meet its international obligations,” Mr. Ventrell said.

Omar al-Jawoshy contributed reporting from Baghdad.

A version of this article appears in print on September 6, 2012, on page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. Presses Iraq on Iran Flights Thought to Carry Arms to Syria. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe